Florida’s northeast communities have created a brand new self-guided tour to showcase places the place Black residents have made a significant impression. Their new St. Johns County Black Heritage Path highlights 20 historic websites that individuals can go to to study extra concerning the function of Black historical past in Florida and past.
The path’s improvement was a collaborative effort sponsored by the St. Johns County Vacationer Growth Council, the Nationwide Belief for Historic Preservation, and the Florida Division of Historic Sources. The programming features a 64-page guidebook, an internet site with interactive maps, and new signage at every of the historic websites.
The tour contains key places in St. Augustine, a metropolis based by Spanish conquistadors in 1565 that grew to become a middle of the Spanish Empire in Florida. The Spanish held the town with assistance from Africans and Haitians. Fort Mosé, the nation’s first free African settlement, was based there when Africans fled enslavement in close by English and French colonies.
Different stops on the tour embrace Butler Seaside, one of many few seashores within the space developed for African Individuals, and the Lincolnville Historic District, a neighborhood based by freedmen in 1866 that grew to become a focus of the Civil Rights Motion main as much as the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs, a Florida historian who helped design the tour, says that the path helps display that Black historical past within the Americas was not solely grounded in slavery.
“Our previous in America is commonly seen solely by the lens of slavery, however a part of the story in St. Augustine is recognizing that we got here right here as free folks,” Hobbs mentioned. “We arrived alongside Spanish and different European settlers. There have been leaders amongst that group who served as translators, guides, and intermediaries, serving to to facilitate contact between Indigenous Individuals and Europeans.”
She added that tales concerning the Spanish colonial presence in Florida usually overlook the management function of Black folks within the formation of St. Johns County. Inspecting this and searching on the institution of locations like Fort Mosé broadens our understanding of Black historical past past the confines of chattel slavery.
“There’s even a narrative about Jorge Biassou,” Hobbs added, “who was of Haitian descent. He participated within the Haitian Revolution and was considerably of a mercenary, keen to work for whoever paid him essentially the most. He ended up with the Spanish and frolicked in St. Augustine, the place he really led a protection of the town. This highlights a captivating historical past of the African diaspora that extra folks ought to learn about.”
Thomas Jackson, a founding member of the Fort Mosé Historic Society, advised the AmNews that when he was younger, older adults spoke about Fort Mosé, however with little proof of it, most younger folks didn’t actually imagine it had been an actual place.
“On Easter Sunday, we’d go to church,” Jackson recalled: “After church, we’d go to the parade downtown, after which we’d additionally go to the Castillo de San Marcos, which is the Spanish fortress in downtown St. Augustine. After we would go to that fort, a number of the old-timers would inform us, ‘You realize, we had a fort too!’ And I used to type of marvel, nicely, is that true or was it type of a number of wishful pondering, as a result of who would give us a fort?”
When he attended Florida A&M College (FAMU), Jackson was in a category with Dr. James N. Eaton, who inspired him to discover the historical past of his native metropolis. That led Jackson to research and actually respect the founding of Fort Mosé. When organizing started within the Nineties to help a proper interpretation of the fort’s authentic web site, he joined the hassle.
Jackson labored with different locals to create a civil society group that, on June 26, 1996, traveled to the location of Fort Mosé and voted to help the creation of the Fort Mosé Historic Society. They began fundraising, recruiting volunteers, and taking up varied initiatives in order that they may develop and share the Fort Mosé story. Immediately, Fort Mosé has a ten,000-square-foot museum and repeatedly holds music occasions and historic re-enactments.
“This venture brings larger recognition to the folks and locations that helped construct and outline St. Johns County,” Brenda Swann, director of grants and operations at St. Johns Cultural Council mentioned in a press release. “We hope it conjures up reflection, delight, and a deeper understanding of our shared historical past.”
